Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 21 (PTI): As rains intensified in Keralam, triggering mudslides, landslides and flash floods that claimed five lives and left two persons missing, Chief Minister V D Satheesan ordered an hourly assessment of the situation.

Following Satheesan's direction, Disaster Management Authority Commissioner Vigneswari IAS convened a meeting with the collectors of Idukki and Kottayam districts to assess the situation, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said in a statement on Sunday.

SMS alerts have been issued in Idukki and Kottayam regarding the weather conditions, while the collectors have been instructed to assess the situation and take necessary steps, including evacuation, it said.

The Chief Minister also directed the immediate deployment of a special team of the Disaster Management Force to the Nilambur-Amarambalam area in Malappuram district, where five people were swept away in the Kottapuzha River, the statement said.

Two persons died and two others remained missing after the five-member group was swept away by a flash flood in the river on Sunday evening.

According to police, the group from Vandoor had reached the spot and entered the river for a bath when the water level suddenly rose following a flash flood, sweeping them away.

While one person was rescued by a local resident, the bodies of two others were recovered later by Fire and Rescue personnel. The remaining two are still missing, police said.

In Kottayam district, a woman from Tamil Nadu was killed and her friend injured after a landslide at Velathussery near Teekoy on Sunday, police said.

The deceased was identified as Sangeetha Arul Lal (35), a resident of Jawahar Nagar in Chennai.

Sangeetha and her friend, also from Tamil Nadu, were returning from Vagamon when the landslide occurred in the evening, police said.

Mud fell onto the road and trapped Sangeetha, who was riding a scooter. Her friend managed to escape with injuries and was shifted to a hospital, they said.

Earlier on Sunday, two persons were killed and a woman injured after a mudslide flattened a shed where they had taken shelter from the rain at Kottakamboor in Idukki district.

The three were taking shelter in the shed at around 3.30 pm when a mudslide cascaded down and damaged the structure, trapping them underneath.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday forecast heavy rain in parts of Keralam over the next four days, providing relief to the state which has been experiencing rising temperatures and frequent power cuts.

The weather agency also forecast thunderstorms at isolated places in Keralam from September 20 to 21.

The IMD upgraded the alerts in Kottayam and Idukki from yellow to orange during the day.

An orange alert indicates very heavy rainfall of 11 cm to 20 cm, while a yellow alert denotes heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm.

Keralam has experienced a weak monsoon this year, with a rainfall deficit of 28 per cent between June 1 and September 17, according to IMD data. PTI HMP SCY SCY

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